“I was at work when they called and told me that the cars was caught, and I started to leave work to come home and get a trailer and winch to go in and get them. And when I got to questioning them about them, it’s like ‘No, it’s already up in the floorboard, and it’s already inside the car,” Joyce says.

That happened despite his best efforts. He says the cars were parked where it was dry – where the water hadn’t yet reached.

But then, “From 2 o’clock to 6 o’clock, it came up almost 2 foot and got the cars.”

“It was purely an accident. It wasn’t anything stupid on anybody’s part. It’s just the water just came up so fast,” Joyce says.

He’s seen other people try to drive through the floodwaters – something traffic officials, emergency responders and law enforcement officers always advise against.

“There’s been people attempting to drive through it and didn’t make it,” Joyce says. “And they lost their car.”

So how are things on his property now? “Right now, it’s probably about 14-16 inches at my house — probably still in it 16 inches. But it’s draining out every day just a little more, and that’s all we can hope for,” he says.

Joyce shared an optimistic view as the water continues to go down.

“It’s a relief, because you never know how high it’s going to go. Good Lord’s willing, we’ll see another one,” he says. “We’ll deal with it just like we do this one. It’ll just be another clean up, move on — another day.”